The present invention relates to an aqueous coating using substantial recycled materials and incorporating an effective amount of psyllium seed husks and processing derivatives high in mucilage content. The coating is processed to a flowable form and when applied, by spraying or dispersing, conforms and adheres to intervening contours.
The psyllium format used in the present invention is derived from several members of the plant genus Plantago, preferably P. ovata also referred to as Blond Psyllium. Of particular utility are the constituents derived from the seed husks or hulls, in particulate form, as well as the byproducts from the processing in the form commonly referred to as kha-kha powder or Psyllium industrial dust. Both have a high swell volume of around 20 times, and a swell rate of about 20 ml/g to 65 ml/g and above. As hereinafter used, the term “psyllium husk and byproducts” (PHB) encompasses the high mucilage/swell volume products, alone or in combination, from the Plantago species. Such products are readily commercially available under Harmonized Tariff Number 1211.90.80.20 and FDA Product Code 54 I Y R 02.
The coatings of the invention have particular benefit in soil and ground applications, wherein the coating may be used in agricultural applications for controlling unwanted plant growth, terrain applications for limiting erosion, planting applications for supporting or retarding target species growth, and load bearing applications for facilitating vehicle and personnel traffic. The coatings are sprayed or dispersed as thin self leveling coatings to required thickness for the application.
The Plantago species in other roughly processed forms have been proposed for varying soil based applications.
As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,696,559, the seeds of Plantago or other sources are processed to a gum, mixed with mulch and applied in wet or dry form to soil surfaces to protect against water and wind erosion, reduce soil moisture loss and enhance seed germination.
The dried and ground plants of the Plantago family have also been proposed for conditioning soils as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,665. Therein, the plant material was tilled into the soil and wetted to substantial depths and thereafter compacted. Suggested applications include ground cover, sports fields, and highway berms and embankments.
A further soil stabilization approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,746,546 wherein psyllium in an undisclosed formal is dry mixed with plastic fiber and aggregate, and applied to soil contours such as golf bunkers. The applied mixture is wetted and when hardened is claimed to prevent distortion and disfiguration of shape. The psyllium disclosed is said to have a swell volume of 25-45% suggesting a plant based particulate format of the type used in the inventor's above mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,665, inasmuch as psyllium husk powder as used in the present invention has a swell volume orders of magnitude greater. The disclosed application rates of the psyllium format are such, that if psyllium husk powder were used, the cost would be prohibitive.
None of the above proposed applications, however, disclose or suggest the use of the psyllium husk and/or byproducts as a conformal coating system and wherein the characteristics may be augmented by select additives to improve upon and extend beneficial uses therefor.